The new HFP chat thread – Tuesday 2nd June

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• Harry T says:

  2 Jun2 June 08:10

  I have BA Cityflyer flights booked on Avios from Edinburgh to Florence for late August. Does anyone know if BA Cityflyer are still flying or planning to be by then?

  Of course, no guarantees the Italians will let us in. I’m also wondering what the state of five star hotels will be by then…

  • Stu N says:

    2 Jun2 June 08:28

    Our June flights were cancelled last month – I suspect the BACF regional routes are marginal and may be some of the first to get chopped.

    If they are cancelled, you could ask to be rerouted via LHR or LCY but the Edinburgh – Florence timings were perfect for a weekend and a connection would eat into your time away. Fingers crossed for you!

    • Harry T says:

      2 Jun2 June 08:35

      Thanks, Stu.

    • Andrew says:

      2 Jun2 June 08:43

      Aren’t these the aircraft used when LCY is closed?

      As they’d otherwise be sitting on the ground, as long the direct operating costs are covered on the Edinburgh diagrams, it’s easy money.

      • Anna says:

        2 Jun2 June 10:20

        I think we had this discussion last week and Rob or Rhys said the CityFlyer aircraft are currently operating out of LHR so there’s no reason they can’t be re-positioned to do the regional routes. I think it’s more likely that the decision will rest on load factors and the position of the destination country on receiving UK visitors (and FCO advice for as long as it’s in place).

        • Rhys says:

          2 Jun2 June 11:02

          No CityFlyer out of Heathrow. There was talk that BA may move that way in the future but it requires the permission of the unions.

        • Anna says:

          2 Jun2 June 12:23

          I’m sure someone said they were operating from another airport than LCY because it was in response to my own query about the direct flights from MAN this summer.

      • Stu N says:

        2 Jun2 June 17:31

        I’m pessimistic that they will run as the routes aren’t core to BA’s proposition and the overheads and logistics of running them are more than most routes.

  • BJ says:

    2 Jun2 June 10:21

    5* hotels might become (hopefully clean) 3* hotels due to lack of facilities and services.

    • Harry T says:

      2 Jun2 June 12:15

      @BJ that’s my my main concern. I mean, I’d still get a superior hard product in the room and a comfort bed with presumably better service. But no access to spa, pool, restaurant, gym would put me off. I’m booking three and five star hotels for Milan, Venice and Florence, and making a decision nearer the time based on information I can glean. St Regis Florence isn’t even open until September!

      Plus side is there’s lots of Welcome Back rates with Marriott where you get a 25% discount, flexible rate and breakfast.

• Tom says:

  2 Jun2 June 08:53

  Got my gold business Amex last week. No welcome bonus counter has appeared in the app or on the web. How long does it normally take to show up in people’s experiences?

  • Peter K says:

    2 Jun2 June 09:11

    It comes and goes. Sometimes it never appears at all. Everything is still tracking in the background though.

  • Lady London says:

    2 Jun2 June 09:32

    see below and as well, it can show on website and not on app or v.v.

• Marcw says:

  2 Jun2 June 09:02

  A recent review of the “new normal” airline lounges. Lufthansa: water + snacks. No alcohol or food. No showers. Limited capacity. (in German) https://youhavebeenupgraded.boardingarea.com/2020/06/ein-erster-blick-in-die-heute-geoffneten-lufthansa-lounges/?utm_source=BoardingArea&utm_medium=BoardingArea

• ian_h says:

  2 Jun2 June 09:12

  Radisson Rewards Question – does anyone have any experience of receiving points from a partner / same household etc (no status) and whether this counts as activity to reset the expiry clock?

  Thanks

  • Genghis says:

    2 Jun2 June 10:14

    Not directly related to your Q but sending over 3 Membership Reward points does the trick. I’ve just sent more over to extend points life before I shortly close my Amex.

    • ian_h says:

      2 Jun2 June 10:31

      Cheers Genghis sadly I dont have an Amex, I even tried the buy flowers link to see if i could generate a few that way but doesn’t work where i currently am.!

    • Rob says:

      2 Jun2 June 10:31

      Hmmm … might do that. I have 1,100 heading towards expiry – grand value around £3.50 – but I’m willing to sacrifice 1p of Membership Rewards points to protect them 🙂

• Craig says:

  2 Jun2 June 09:22

  Has anyone used the Laithwaites Amex offer and how long did it take for the rebate to appear? Managed to double dip with the Blue Light promo code.

  • Paul says:

    2 Jun2 June 09:26

    My credit appeared after 4 days (also double dipped with BLC)

    • Craig says:

      2 Jun2 June 09:41

      Much obliged.

  • Anna says:

    2 Jun2 June 10:09

    My payment was taken on May 26th but no statement credit yet. Got £55 off in total with BLC.

• Andrew M says:

  2 Jun2 June 09:27

  Stephen from Seat Spy has confirmed that non BA searches (ie AF, KLM and Virgin) are limited to four per month for Economy (free) members.

• rams1981 says:

  2 Jun2 June 09:55

  Unsurprisingly my July flights to/from Newquay/LHR have been cancelled this morning. Have to call and discuss options. Had only paid 50p taxes for each leg so not really an urgent need for a refund 🙂

  • Anna says:

    2 Jun2 June 10:12

    Why is BA cancelling so many July flights when all the signs are that travel may well be permitted by then, especially domestic?

    • Rhys says:

      2 Jun2 June 10:16

      Demand is unlikely to return that quickly, even without quarantine/restrictions

      • Alex M says:

        2 Jun2 June 10:39

        You need to be confident that the flight will take place before you book, i.e. if BA keeps cancelling flights they will destroy the demand even further, so to speak. They need to bite the bullet and start flying, then the demand will build up.

        • Rhys says:

          2 Jun2 June 10:45

          Yes, although they need to decide what capacity they want to start with. Cancelling flights is part of setting a base frequency from which you can build. Note that BA have not announced yet when they will return to ‘meaningful’ flying.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          2 Jun2 June 10:46

          Agree there’s a little catch 22 here

        • Jake Mc says:

          2 Jun2 June 10:50

          I was going to book some of the Newquay flights for August – will they likely be cancelled do we think?

          I phoned up a nice hotel in Newquay yesterday (watergate bay) and they said they were totally booked up for 3 night stays in the whole of August. There must be some demand there and I’m surprised BA can’t fill a 319 in July.

        • marcw says:

          2 Jun2 June 11:11

          I fully agree. But it´s a very challenging situation for hub and spoke carriers. Within the EU, we now know that there will be some flights going on.

          Big problem is long haul… travel restrictions are very restrictive, and importantly, the countries don´t know whether they will open up. Japan, Hong Kong, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, South Africa, have anounced that they won´t accept any non-residents/non-nationals in the forseeable future. Other countries, like USA, it´s a mystery… so there´s a big problem “how to plan operations” for the airlines.

• Definitas says:

  2 Jun2 June 09:59

  Has anyone had any success in getting a card fee reduction for BAPP to deter them from cancelling?

  • Alex says:

    2 Jun2 June 13:36

    I thought some people said they were given some avios but I may have misread or misremembered. I’ve been meaning to try but not around to it.

    • Allan says:

      2 Jun2 June 14:18

      Cancelled it today, nothing offered.

  • Alex says:

    2 Jun2 June 14:47

    Asked to cancel (membership fee is due very soon). No reduction in fee but got 3500 avios, better than nothing!

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